Why Do Villains Speak with a "Foreign Accent"? The Bias Children Unconsciously Learn from Anime

Why Do Anime Villains Have Accents?

Think of villains in children's anime. Sharp eyes, dark costumes, eerie laughter. And there's often another characteristic added: the way they speak.

Captain Hook from 'Peter Pan', Scar from 'The Lion King', Gru from the 'Minions' series. In North American children's media, there has long been a trend of portraying villains and suspicious characters with accents different from standard North American English. Of course, having an accent is not inherently bad; it's a reflection of linguistic diversity. However, if certain ways of speaking are repeatedly used as character symbols for being "suspicious," "sly," "dangerous," or "untrustworthy," what do children learn from that?

Researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga investigated this question head-on. The focus of the study was whether accent portrayals in children's media are linked to linguistic biases in children. It's not just about saying "old cartoons had such tendencies." The study questioned whether similar structures remain in modern works and whether viewing experiences influence children's judgments.

The research team analyzed 105 works, including anime films and TV series that 7-8-year-old children actually watch. The results confirmed that characters with foreign accents or non-standard accents tend to be depicted more negatively than those speaking standard North American English. More importantly, this trend was found not only in past works but also in recent children's media.

Children Chose Villainous Voices Based on "Voice Alone"

In the study's experiment, children were asked to help choose voice actors for a new anime. They listened to the same actor speaking in different accents and chose which voice suited a hero or a villain.

The results were clear. Both 7-8-year-old children and adults were more likely to judge foreign-accented voices as suitable for villains rather than heroes. Furthermore, the more negatively foreign accents or non-standard accents were depicted in their favorite anime, the stronger the tendency to associate foreign accents with villains in the experiment.

This doesn't mean children can clearly articulate that "foreign accents are bad." Rather, the concern is that they might be unconsciously learning "voice impressions" through the repetition of stories. Just like dark lighting, eerie music, and villainous expressions, accents might be processed as symbols indicating a character's morality.

The research was conducted in the Greater Toronto Area, a highly multilingual and multicultural region. One might think that children exposed to diverse accents in daily life would have weaker biases. Researchers initially thought so too. However, the results showed that even with diverse linguistic environments at home or in the community, media-derived associations can persist.

The Issue Isn't "Having Foreign Accents"

It's important not to misunderstand that this study simply argues "villains shouldn't have foreign accents." The presence of diverse ways of speaking in stories is actually desirable, as real society is full of diverse voices, and it's natural for media to reflect that.

The issue is the consistent assignment of certain accents to villains, foolish characters, untrustworthy individuals, or lower-ranking characters. Heroes, wise figures, and trusted leaders speak with "standard" voices, while those depicted as enemies or outsiders speak with "different" voices. Such repetition teaches children a hierarchy of "normal voices" and "non-normal voices."

This structure is similar to visual stereotypes. In past visual representations, certain races, genders, body types, disabilities, and ages were confined to biased roles. In recent years, awareness of such expressions has increased, and there has been progress in considering diversity in production settings. However, the treatment of accents and dialects has been relatively overlooked.

Pronunciation and speech are not as visually noticeable as skin color or clothing. However, they are deeply connected to social evaluations. People with foreign accents may be underestimated in the workplace or face disadvantages in education, housing, and employment. The "voice direction" in children's anime is not just an entertainment issue but is connected to real-world biases.

Social Media Reactions: Empathy and Opposition

The Phys.org article introducing this study garnered at least hundreds of reactions and comments on Facebook. Based on publicly available searches, the Phys.org post displayed 288 reactions and 251 comments. However, since the details of the comments cannot be fully confirmed through public searches, it's necessary to avoid making definitive statements about individual remarks.

Meanwhile, this topic has been discussed on social media and forums for some time. In the linguistics community on Reddit, similar topics have seen analyses such as "British English is often used for villains because it is associated with power and nobility" or "For American children, voices that are understandable but slightly different may create a sense of eeriness."

Another reaction is the observation that "this is not a problem unique to America; every country tends to use 'outsider speech' for character portrayal." In Japanese anime and manga, for instance, Kansai dialect is used to signify cheerfulness or a business-minded spirit, old-fashioned speech indicates authority, and broken Japanese suggests foreignness or comedic elements. While the structure differs from the "foreign-accented villains" in English-speaking regions, the expression of using speech as a label for personality exists in various cultures.

Conversely, there is a strong view that "giving villains distinctive voices is a narrative device, and calling everything a bias is excessive." Indeed, voice acting is an important means of bringing characters to life. Having villains with the most memorable voices can enhance the appeal of a work. The issue is not blaming individual works but the accumulation of symbols in the same direction over decades.

Could Positive Depictions of "Good Foreign Accents" Be a Solution?

Interestingly, recent studies have reported a trend in newer Disney works where foreign-accented characters are depicted more positively. This suggests that media representations are not fixed and can be changed.

The solution is not to erase accents. Rather, it's to depict characters with accents in more diverse roles. There can be heroes with foreign accents. Scientists speaking in dialects. Kings, teachers, friends, leaders, geniuses, and ordinary neighbors who speak in non-standard ways. Villains can also have standard pronunciation. The key is not to rigidly associate voice with morality.

Children learn societal rules from stories more than adults might think. Who is trusted, who is laughed at, who is feared, and who becomes the protagonist. Not only visual expressions but also voices are part of this educational material.

What can be done at home is not to ban works. Researchers do not suggest that parents should excessively regulate viewing. Rather, it's important to have conversations with children. "Why does this villain speak like that?" "How would you feel if this voice was a hero?" "In reality, there are people with various ways of speaking, right?" Such questions can turn the symbols children unconsciously receive into subjects for reflection.

Producers have an even greater responsibility. Children's works are not only entertainment but also a microcosm of society. If diversity is to be depicted, attention must be paid not only to appearance but also to vocal diversity.

The issue is not that villains have accents. The problem is that voices with accents are always placed on the side of evil. When children encounter people with various ways of speaking in future classrooms, workplaces, or on street corners, will they perceive those voices as "suspicious" or listen to them as "part of the person's identity"? The small direction in anime might influence how they listen in the future.

Source URLs

Phys.org article: Refer to general explanations of the research content, researcher comments, experiment overview, and suggestions for parents and producers.
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-cartoon-villains-accent-reveals-impact.html

University of Toronto Mississauga article: Check researcher affiliations, research background, and article publication date as a university announcement close to the original article.
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/what-happens-when-cartoon-villains-have-accent-utm-research-reveals-impact-kids

Child Development published paper: Refer to primary information on the research. Analysis of 105 works, experiments with 91 children aged 7-8 and 80 adults, additional experiments with ages 5-13, and correlational limitations.
https://academic.oup.com/chidev/advance-article/doi/10.1093/chidev/aacag048/8654288

Related Reddit discussion: Refer to examples of reactions on social media and forums regarding the same theme, including discussions on British English, foreignness, and differences by country and culture.
https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/7qgnay/why_do_cartoon_villains_speak_in_foreign_accents/

The Atlantic past article: Refer to the background of the same theme being discussed previously, examples like Scar, and the treatment of non-standard speech in children's programs.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/why-do-cartoon-villains-speak-in-foreign-accents/549527/

Aarhus University / MedieKultur research introduction: Refer to supplementary context that recent Disney works tend to depict foreign-accented characters more positively.
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/teaching-children-to-discriminate-a-quantitative-study-of-linguis/